Ash and his many companionshave met a ton ofPokémonover their travelsacross myriad regions, but only one is considered a “perfect life form” according to Game Freak. The company has created a lot of strife over the years regarding Pokédex entries, particularly in terms of inconsistencies between generations (decades apart) and lore revelations. I also don’t want to imagine how terrifying “deep sea exploration” is in the Pokémon universe.
In any case, some brave soul in the Pokémon universemanaged to dredge the depths and locate Relicanth: yet another enigma of a creature. Debuting in the third generation of games (theRuby/Sapphire/Emeraldreleases), this unassuming Pokémon is hiding something. It just happens to be the perfect life form, and it’s not even mythic. Nope, it’s just plain old Pokédex entry #369.
Relicanth Is Apparently A “Perfect Life Form” In Ultra Moon’s Pokédex
It Has Existed For “A Hundred Million Years”
Slowly but surely, we have gathered more information on Relicanth over time, thanks to in-game Dex entries. Initially, in the third generation, it was billed as a “Pokémon that existed for a hundred million years without ever changing its form” directly in-game, which gives us a little hint at what’s to come. In Gen IV, Relicanth is revealed to have been “discovered during a deep-sea exploration,” as well as a reiteration of it never changing its form. Gen V and Gen VI paraphrase that same bit of info,butPokemon Ultra Moon(Gen VII) is where things get interesting.
According to theUltra MoonPokédex, Relicanth is kind of a big deal: “The reason it hasn’t changed at all in a hundred million yearsis that it’s apparently already a perfect life-form.“Pokemon Sword(Generation VIII) also notes: “Rock-hard scales and oil-filled swim bladders allow this Pokémon to survive the intense water pressure of the deep sea.” All of these little micro-entries add up to the bigger picture. Using its “toothless mouth,” it feeds on microscopic organisms, and has managed to never change in millions of years, because it does not need to adapt.
It’s Surprising This Pokémon Is Called Perfect
“A Rare Species That Was Discovered In Deep-Sea Explorations”
When I hear “perfect life form” in the Pokémon universe, my mind immediately goes to Mewtwo. But that’s more wishful thinking than anything, because while this Pokémon is legendaryand would probably consider itself the perfect life form,Mewtwo is officially beaten outby Relicanth. What makes this particularly weird is that Relicanth does not evolve into anything, and has a very unassuming set of stats as a water/rock type. In a sense, though, it does line up with the lore: it simply doesn’t need to evolve.
Adding to its allure, it also appears infrequently in thePokémonTV series, making a significant impact in only two episodes, with other minor background shots scattered throughout. In that sense, it fits its unassuming form. Maybe one day Game Freak will wow us with Relicanth, and it’ll be a force to be reckoned with in more competitive circles. For now, it’ll “just” have to settle for being the perfect life form, although it’ll never know it.
